North Canton voters reject having a full-time mayor

Voters didn't agree with former councilman Chuck Osborne's proposal to all but prohibit the mayor from having outside employment.

Robert Wang CantonRep.com staff writer @rwangREP

By a more than a two-to-one margin, voters decided Tuesday to allow the mayor to keep his day job.

According to unofficial results, the vote was 2,418 to 1,140 (68 percent to 32 percent) to reject Issue 13, the proposed charter amendment that starting in 2015 would have required the mayor to work full-time for the city.

Saying the mayor should not be distracted by another job and more accessible, former Councilman Chuck Osborne gathered signatures to place the issue on the ballot. He blamed the result on low turnout, saying many people connected to the establishment voted.

"We have intelligent voters in this city," said Council President Jon Snyder, Ward 4, who had opposed making piecemeal charter revisions. "They understood our message to convene a charter review commission."

Mayor David Held, who was unopposed and is the executive director of the local waste district, argued that it would cost more to pay a full-time mayor. Osborne said reducing the city administrator's duties and salary would help raise the money.

"I don't believe it's going to save any money for North Canton," said voter Ted Bauer, 55, who didn't see the need for both a full-time mayor and administrator.

Voter William R. Hines, Jr., 30, said Held was doing a good job working part-time, and Sarah Shumaker asked where the money to pay a full-time mayor would come from.

Osborne said he may seek voters' approval of eliminating the administrator position and requiring a full-time mayor.

"It doesn't make sense to hire somebody, give him the title of mayor, give him salary and benefits ... and then have them appoint a bureaucrat to do the mayor's job," he said.